On wings of light
by LoPe21
Summary: Commander Shepard finds himself fighting to rescue Tali and the Ikari's from the collectors new super weapon. Will the strange artifact on the planets surface tilt the balance in his favor? A new genesis has begun. On-Hiatus. Up for adoption.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Mass Effect 2 or Evangelion.

oOo

**On wings of light**

Chapter 1. Awakening

"Shinji." the voice crackled over the intercom set into the stone wall.

Putting down his knife 21 year old Shinji Ikari turned towards the wall. Tall and slim with a runner's physique, he had an unruly mop of dark brown hair and penetrating sea blue eyes. He cut an impressive figure. Well that is if not for the pink apron and the band aid on his nose. Pushing his unruly hair out of his eyes he thumbed the intercom button. "What's up Kal?" He asked politely, his voice rich and cultured as he spoke.

"The boys want to know what you're making today?" Kal'Reeger's voice came in over the intercom.

"The same thing I make every day. Ration Packs." Shinji responded a smile on his face as he bantered back at Kal. "You guys didn't bring anything else. If I had some Turian's rations I could make you guys something new."

"Come on Shinji what about the stuff you made last week?" Kal wheedled.

"That was the last of the it. Until you guys get resupplied were back to basics. I could add some food coloring, make it look pretty."

"Make mine red and white so it matches my suit."

"Kal leave him alone." A calm female voice cut in to the conversation. "Shinji. Dr. Ikari wants you at the dig site."

"I'm cooking Tali what does mom want?" Shinji responded as he reached over and pulled a cutting board and knife closer to him.

"Its your dad. He wants you to get some measurements on the artifact." Tali's voice was colored with annoyance now.

"Can it wait?"

"A moment."The intercom was silent for a few moments. "He says No."

"Tali tell him I'll do it when I'm done here." Shinji cut off the intercom with an angry snap, then reached over and turned the entire unit off as well..

Moving back to the counter Shinji went back to preparing the meal. His movements angry and uncoordinated. A few minutes later the door to the mess hall opened with a hiss revealing the white and red suited figure of the Quarian Marine Commander Kal'Reeger.

"Hey Shinji." Kal called as he came in to the room, the tall Quarian slinging his assault rifle with casual ease. "So what's up man I tried getting a hold of you. But the intercom was off." Crossing the room Kal turned on the intercom before turning back to the young man.

"Sorry about that Kal I just didn't feel like talking." Shinji sighed as he continued to prepare the food. The familiar action serving to calm him.

"Yeah... I got that" He paused a moment to look around before continuing. "Anyways me and the rest of the guys were wondering about something. I mean your Mom and Dad and the rest of the team are all eggheads which is why they're here, but what are you doing here?"

Stirring the food Shinji looked into the soup he was preparing as if searching for an answer. "I don't know Kal. When Mom asked if I wanted to come along on this trip I just kind of jumped on the chance."

"Uh huh." Kal's voice sounded skeptical even through his visor's voice synthesizers. "So what was her name?" He asked shrewdly.

"WHAT!" Shinji's startled squawk brought a chuckle from Kal.

oOo

"Shinji!" Tali's annoyed voice barked again. Turning in her chair she faced the expressionless face of Dr. Gendo Ikari. "I'm sorry Dr. Ikari. It looks like he turned off the intercom. Do you want someone to go get him?"

"No, I don't have time to deal with an angry child. Ill do it myself" He snorted disdainfully before turning on his heel and heading off towards the dig site.

"That was odd." Tali muttered to herself as she turned back to analyzing her data.

"Don't mind him Tali." A soothing voice broke her train of thought. "Shinji and he never got along." Yui Ikari commented as she walked over to join Tali at her station.

"It must be odd to be estranged from ones family." Tali mused.

"Quarian's have very close family ties don't they?" Yui asked as she took her seat next to Tali, absentmindedly placing her coffee cup on a stack of printouts.

"Yes we do. Its hard for it to be otherwise with the way we live."

"I imagine so. I would love to visit the migrant fleet someday." Yui remarked, her dark eyes so much like her sons sparkling with merriment.

"Perhaps when this is over you can visit."

Before Yui could respond the long range comm began beeping. "One second Yui. This is the Joint Council Quarian Haehstrom research team. Tali'Zorah vas Neema speaking. Identify yourself."

"Tali Its the Normandy." An amused masculine voice came in over the comm.

"Shepard?" Tali's voice become noticeably higher pitched and she fidgeted nervously with her suit much to Yui's amusement. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you Tali. We need your help if were going to stop the collector's."

"Me?" Tali squeaked. Yui didn't miss the hint of anticipation in Tali's voice.

"Yes Tali."

"But I'm on a mission from the admiralty board. Were here researching a prothean artifact I can't just leave." She protested weakly.

"We know Tali. I'm hoping we can reach an agreement with the board. That's why were here. I don't agree with the way Cerberus has handled relations with the Migrant Fleet. I'm here to make amends and try to get the support of the migrant fleet."

"Oh." Tali's voice was a bit awed.

"Yeah oh. Well be there in a few hours. Roll out the welcome wagon Tali. Ill see you soon. Take care."

"Right."

"Shepard out." with a hiss the comm connection cut off. Leaving Tali fidgeting in her seat a little as she turned to look at Yui.

"Dr. Ikari I'm sorry I should have-"

"Hush Tali." Yui said with a giggle. "Any friend of yours is welcome here. Especially someone like Commander Shepard. Ill let my husband know. Now run off and let Shinji know were going to be having guests."

"Thank Dr. Ikari" Tali said and left the control room. As soon as Tali had left Yui turned to her console chuckling. Anyone who spent any amount of time with Tali soon figured out her interest in Commander Shepard.

oOo

"TALI! TALI COME IN NOW!" A different and very worried voice came blaring in over the long range comm a few hours later.

"This is Dr. Yui Ikari. What's happening?" Yui asked as she thumbed the comm.

"Dr. Ikari this is Joker from the Normandy, Collector's just jumped into the system. You need to get everyone into shelter NOW!"

"What do you mean, what are the collector's and what are they doing here?" Yui asked concernedly.

"NO TIME GET EVERYONE TO SHELTER!" The voice continued over her protests.

"What?"

"Dr. Ikari This is Commander Shepard." Another more familiar voice cut in. "The collector's are a very serious threat. Get your team to safety and please patch me through to the Quarian security commander." Shepard spoke calmly as he took over the conversation.

"Right." Pressing a few buttons Yui patched the comm to Kal'Reeger's suit link. "Kal this is Yui we have a situation."

"Talk to me Yui what's going on." Kal's calm voice serving to calm Yui further as he answered her.

"Kal? This is commander Shepard vas Normandy. you have alien hostiles a few minutes out from your position. My ship is still an hour away. Bunker down. Is there a safe place for you take all the civilians?"

"Shepard? Commander Shepard? Uh Yes.. Yes" Shocked but recovering fast Kal'Reeger plowed on. "The prothean artifact were studying is in an underground hangar of some kind it only has one entrance. But there's one problem."

"What is it?"

"There's only one entrance Commander." Kal'Reeger finished.

"I understand. Delay them as best you can." Commander Shepard stated solemnly. "Dr. Ikari get your people moving."

"Understood commander. I have a request. Will you listen?"

"Of course."

"This artifact. Don't let it fall into enemy hands."

"It won't"

oOo

"Get down" Kal shouted as another particle beam turned another of his men into ash. Their fighting retreat had been working fine. Retreating from strong point to strong point they had delayed the collector's for nearly 45 minutes with only a few men wounded. Things were going well. That had all changed 5 minutes ago.

With an unearthly wail another of those giant bugs crashed into the ground smashing a crater into the loose rocks. Looking like an enormous insect with a mass of skulls inside their corpse gray shells they fired devastatingly powerful particle beams that sliced through armor with frightening ease. This coupled with their powerful shields made them terrifying foes.

"Move! Move! Move! Back to the entrance!" Kal shouted before firing a single rocket at the incoming horde. Throwing the now empty tube at the enemy as well he drew his rifle and retreated with his men.

Dodging and scrambling the remnant's of his platoon made a fighting retreat back to their final strong point. The cave mouth leading into the artifact's cave. It yawned over them like an enormous mouth. They called it the Giant's rest. Hopefully it wouldn't be their rest as well.

"Shinji, Tali get up here we need you to get some of the wounded back into the cave." Kal called over the radio as he dodged blaster bolts.

"Sure Kal." Shinji replied his voice high with fear before scrambling away from his parents and heading towards the caves mouth.

"Acknowledged." Tali responded as she chambered into her pistol. Suddenly a new voice came in over the net.

"Kal we red-lined the engines. Were landing in five mikes. Hold a little longer."

"Shepard." Tali whispered.

"Commander these damn bugs brought some kind of heavy assault units. You better bring some heavy weapons. We fired every rocket we had and only killed 3. They have some kind of particle beam that cuts through armor like paper. Keep your heads low."

"Thanks for the heads up. Hang on a little longer. Help is on the way."

Jumping into the cave mouth Kal looked up into the faces of his squad plus two more.

"You OK Kal." Shinji asked nervously as he reached over and helped his friend. up.

"I'm fine Shinji. Tali you two get the wounded farther into the cave. Help is on its way." Turning back to the cave mouth he shouldered his rifle. "Tali I said get the wounded back." He shouted as Tali took up a firing position next to him.

Behind them Shinji began to drag the wounded into the cave.

"You need every gun we have Kal. I won't hide in a cave while Shepard and my friends fight." Tali responded harshly as she aimed her pistol and began sending high caliber rounds downrange.

"Damn it Tali get back!"

"I will not!"

oOo

Landing behind the Main collector strike force Shepard and his two man team advanced steadily through the rearguard of the collector attack force.

Hefting his rocket launcher Shepard waved the two other members of his Squad forward. "Jacob Asuka we need to hurry."

"Aye aye commander" Jacob focused tone reassured Shepard that Jacob was a good man. Dressed in matte black power armor he held his heavy machine gun at the ready. Shepard was more worried about his second in command.

Tossing her long red hair over her shoulder Asuka struck a confident pose her grenade launcher held casually in her hands. Wearing her stylish red and gold armor she was the very picture of deadly confidence. "These idiots got themselves chewed up by these things." She let out an amused snort.

"Focus people Lets go." With their heavy weapons they began to blow a path to the embattled Quarian marines. With the majority of the enemy forces elsewhere they were able to advance quickly.

oOo

Putting the last of the wounded down Shinji turned his attention to the artifact in order to distract himself. Sitting half buried in solid granite it looked ancient beyond belief. Looking down he rubbed his hands together nervously. There was blood and other less identifiable goo on them. He didn't want to think of whose it might be. Or what. Pushing those thought's away he turned his attention back to the artifact.

A massive hexagon made of slate gray metal. It was beautiful in its simplicity, its ancient surface pitted with scars. Smooth to the touch it was unadorned save for a single symbol resembling a stylized one. Because of this the artifact had been unofficially dubbed Unit One.

As he gazed at unit one he felt something. A presence as if he stood in the shadow of something...

Enormous.

oOo

_Enemy Detected... Engagement protocols..._

_Activated._

_Creche level start up Initiated..._

_Primary system's online..._

_Secondary system's online..._

_Main Communications coming online... Query Status and situation..._

_No response... _

_Switching to secondary Comm channels... Query Status and situation..._

_No response._

_Tertiary Comm channels cycling... Chatter found... _

oOo

"I can see the cave Commander. They're pinned down by four of those Heavies the Quarian mentioned. And thirteen more infantry, say again one three infantry four heavies. I'm moving to a better firing position. Ill fire on your order."

"Got it Jacob. Give me one minute Me and Asuka are getting in position." Giving his weapon one last check Shepard nodded to Asuka.

"GO!" He shouted into his com and vaulted over a broken barricade. Firing on the run he and Asuka poured fire into the back of the collector formation. From far to the left Jacob's heavy Machine gun stitched a line of death through collector drones.

Turning awkwardly the drones returned fire ineffectively as they were caught in a deadly crossfire.

Explosions bloomed like deadly roses sowing death amongst the collector's. Asuka's banshee yell echoed over the battlefield as she ran forward firing from the hip.

Taken completely by surprise the drones died first as they were caught between the hammer of Shepard's forces and the anvil of the Quarian marines.

Coming to a sliding halt Shepard brought his missile launcher to his shoulder. Sighting in and firing in one single motion he sent a rocket screaming downrange. It caught the nearest heavy at a leg joint blowing the limb clean off and spinning the floating monstrosity off to one side. Advancing steadily he poured rocket after rocket into the monster. Finally a rocket slipped through a crack in its armor and detonated inside it blowing it apart in a shower of shrapnel and other fluids.

Keeping his head down Jacob kept the stream of laser fire focused on a single spot on the alien heavy. A particle beam shot out and tore through the stone next to him. Shifting his aim slightly he blew out two of the things eyes causing its aim to veer wildly as the shields protecting it failed. It died as the Quarian marines shifted their fire onto the now defenseless Heavy.

Slamming in a fresh clip of grenades Asuka vaulted over a barricade and smashed round after round into the faces of the remaining two heavies. With a shuddering cry the last two fell to the ground under concentrated fire. As they died one let out long piercing wails which were cut off abruptly as Asuka slammed a last grenade into the corpse.

"Shut up you." She snarled before turning her attention back to the battlefield.

"That's all them commander" Jacob's voice came over the radio. "Wait I got something on my short range radar. Looks big probably reinforcements."

"Alright Jacob come on down, we will be take firing positions down here."

"Roger."

oOo

_Language unknown... Analyzing... _

_No connection found... Extrapolating... Not enough data... _

_Shunting to tertiary data storage for later analysis..._

_Enemy chatter found... Analyzing... Confirmed... 82.23% match plus or minus 5% with archived data... _

_Analyzing..._

_Enemy target is this storage facility..._

_Independent action Protocols..._

_ENGAGED._

oOo

Keying his mike again Shepard contacted the Normandy. "Talk to me Joker what's going on? What's coming towards us?"

"Little busy Shepard. We got hostiles up here. Some kind of unmanned flying _Thing_. DAMN IT!" Jokers communication cut off in a wash of static.

"Joker? Joker? EDI Someone answer."

A few tense moments passed before the mike's green transmission light ticked over from red. "Sorry Shepard your on your own for now. I need to pull out of upper atmosphere, I can't win a dogfight here."

"Give em hell Joker. Shepard out."

"Aye aye Commander. All right EDI lets go and wrassle them around some more." Joker called before com was lost.

Chuckling a bit at Joker's antics Shepard made his way over to Asuka who was _conversing _with a Quarian who had to be Kal'Reeger.

"I appreciate the help but you can't just order my men around like that." The armored Quarian gestured angrily as he stood in front of the volatile red head.

"Your men wouldn't have last-"

"Asuka! That's enough." Shepard barked out. "Kal'Reeger. I presume?"

"Yes. Shepard right?" Kal pushed past Asuka to walk over to Shepard extending a hand in welcome as he did so. "Thanks Commander You really saved our asses there."

Taking Kal's hand Shepard waved the other Quarian's over. "Its not over yet. We got enemy contacts still inbound. Kal If we can take their shields down can your men deal the death blows?"

"You can count on us." Kal held up his rifle confidently. "You heard the man! Form a perimeter." At his harsh bark the rest of his men slid into firing positions smoothly, knocking over stones and building some hasty cover with debris.

"Shepard!" Tali whispered softly as she reloaded. She paused briefly to talk with one of the Quarian marines before striding over to join the group.

"Shepard!" she called holding out her hand to Shepard who gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Its been too long Tali. But were not out of the woods yet."

"Yes, I'm aware of that. All of the civilians are safe and our wounded are stabilized. So I'll be remaining on the line." Her tone made it clear she wasn't asking.

Kal'Reeger and Shepard exchanged a look before nodding in agreement. With the arrival of Jacob a few moments later their efforts to reinforce their position sped up. In a few short minutes every one was dug in with Shepard's heavy weapons anchoring the line of Quarian Marines.

Now all they could do was wait.

Sitting in the hanger with the rest of the scientist's and the wounded Shinji felt a strange foreboding wash over him. Light spilled in from the large hanger like doors at the other end of the hanger. It seemed like all the movement at the entrance had finally died down. Doing his best to burn off some restless energy he got up and began to walk around a bit. He ended up a few short feet from the artifact. Behind him the metal surface of the artifact began to ripple.

oOo

"Keelah Se'lai " One of the Quarian Marines whispered. Ahead of them the enemy reinforcements had finally come into view. 32 drones, 8 Heavies. But that wasn't what caused a wave of fear to ripple palpably across the group of defenders. Leading the pack were 2 massive enemy units.

Each was twice the height of a geth colossus. Humanoid with a bone white death mask through which glowing blue orbs stared out, the rest of their bodies seemed to be made out of the Standard Collector flesh and materials albeit on a massive scale. They walked on two spindly legs ending in dagger-like points with long arms reaching to their knees. Odd rib like spurs grew out of their chests framing a ghostly blue sphere set into their chests. It was from these sphere's that massive energy shields rippled out across their frames. With every step their blade like feet drove deep into the soil and rock of the planets surface.

Keying his mike Shepard spoke rapidly into it. "Joker we need you." Static was his only response.

oOo

"Shinji!" Yui gasped as green shaft of light speared out of the artifact behind her son. Beside her her husband stood impassively. The light came from a hole which grew steadily larger spilling more and more light into the air.

Shinji could only stare as a dark shape began to rise out from within the artifact. The first thing he noticed was the long 'horn' that stuck out of the things head. A head with a long narrow chin, deep set eyes and a sweeping crest. He couldn't describe the feeling that rose within him. Like being afraid without fear.

Next came the broad massive shoulders that tapered down to a seemingly delicate waist. Tall thin armor segments jutted vertically from its shoulders making it seem even taller. Colored in dazzling royal purple and emerald green it crouched atop the artifact like a jewel in a case.

oOo

_Initiating Attack protocols..._

_Biological presences detected... Scanning... No known match..._

_Scanning..._

_Tools... Clothing... Language... Probability of Sentience 95% plus or minus 3%_

_Threat level... Minimal..._

_Scanning Hangar..._

_Anomalies detected... Time spent in storage unknown... _

_Extrapolating... Unable to extrapolate..._

_Information required before further action..._

_Acquiring sentient..._

oOo

Shinji screamed in fright as a beam shot out of the machine and illuminated him. At the same time the massive chest plate slid open into upper and lower halves, in the dimly lit interior a shallow coffin like structure could be seen. Two metallic gray manipulator arms shot out from its chest and dragged Shinji inside with a muffled yell.

oOo

_Sentient Acquired..._

_Weapon Safeties disengaging..._

_Flooding Pilot chamber..._

_Targeting Sensors engaging..._

_Connecting Mind Impulse unit..._

oOo

Shinji screamed in fright as he was yanked inside the chest cavity of the artifact machine.

Thudding into the center of an open space he pawed frantically at the walls but he couldn't see anything. His fear increased tenfold as he felt warm liquid welling up around his legs.

"Mom! Kal! Someone, anyone get me out of here."

He kept screaming until the warm liquid covered his face and drowned out his cries. His panic only grew as some kind of electric charge ran through his body, shattering his world with pain.

oOo

_Mind Impulse Unit connected... Data In loading..._

_Reading... Compiling..._

_In loading Language..._

_Classification... Human... Male... Adolescent... _

_Reevaluating... Young Adult... _

_Scholar... junior grade..._

_Galactic Status... Querying sentient's main memory... Creators known as Protheans... changing designations... _

_Prothean race extinct... Secondary command protocols engaging... _

_Sentient... Shinji... Status Civilian..._

_Sentient... Shinji... Status Pilot..._

oOo

Standing next to her husband Yui was paralyzed with fear as her son was swallowed up by the giant purple machine. A titan wrought in power and born in light.

And then it spoke.

A bass tone so deep it vibrated the air itself.

"_**Evangelion Unit One..."**_

"_**Launch."**_

oOo

AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai who as always provide me with unparalleled help and support. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend All of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.

AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Mass Effect 2 or Evangelion.

oOo

Thanks to Rusty Knight and Psudocode Samurai for reviewing.

oOo

**On wings of light**

Chapter 2. Re-Birth

"**Launch"**The word reverberated out from the hangar momentarily distracting Shepard and the Quarian marines. A few of them turned to see who or what had spoken.

"What was?-" One of the Marines started saying before being knocked to the ground by Jacob. A particle beam sliced the air where the marine had been standing moments before.

"Damn!" Asuka screeched as the collector force that had been approaching steadily suddenly lurched into skittering motion advancing at twice their previous rate and began firing wildly at their position.

"Fire!" Shepard shouted and began to aim at the heavy units. _If we can out take out the smaller ones maybe we can hide in the hangar until the Normandy can reinforce us. _"Take out the small ones! The Normandy will be here soon!" Even as he said the words he knew they were a lie. Odds were those two giant assault units could survive even the Normandy's fire power long enough to kill them.

A shot glanced off his pauldron and ricocheted up and away to fall into the mouth of the hangar. An involuntary twitch caused him to trace its path into the hangar.

The pinpoint of light stopped abruptly.

Motionless it hung in the air. A tiny metal star.

_Boom. _A small tremor resonated through the ground and up through his boots.

The shots striking around them intensified distracting Shepard from the strange anomaly. Shouldering his weapon he once again concentrated on taking down the Collector drones and Heavies.

_Boom. _Another tremor rippled through the ground.

Screams of all kinds tore the air as both sides hammered away at each other. Aside from pausing to reload Shepard's entire focus was narrowed down to the narrow view provided by the sights of his weapon.

_Boom. _The tremors seemed to be getting closer as the Collector's advanced.

Explosions rippled along the left flank throwing Asuka and a marine to the ground in a shower of rocks and earth. Breathing steadily Shepard continued taking out his targets with steady metronome precision

_Boom_

"Commander!" A voice pierced his consciousness. Dimly he noticed that the rate of incoming fire had slackened. Raising his head he looked around. Amazingly the battlefield had gone totally silent. Ahead of him the collector force stood silently. Around him the battered defenders shared equally baffled looks.

_Boom_

"Why did they stop." Jacob whispered as he kept his weapon trained on the enemy force. Next to his gun mount a pebble shuddered and fell to one side. He waited to hear it hit the ground. The sound never came. Glancing down he felt his breath catch in his throat.

_Boom_

"Keela" Tali spoke in a tone of profound awe. All around her rocks and small stones were rising into the sky. Around her the Quarian Marines stopped what they were doing. A few reached out hesitantly, gently, and touched some of the flying pieces of rock. Reaching down Tali picked up a rock the size of her fist, raising it to eye level she dropped it.

It floated gently. A small asteroid.

_Boom _The pervasive tremors that he had been feeling seemed to be coming from right behind him now. But right now didn't seem to be the best time to deal with it.

A flicker of light from the battlefield caught Shepard's eye. The two giant assault units had raised their arms, bolts of blue and red energy ran down their lengths brightening as it gathered in their palms which now resembled elongated gun barrels. _They're going to fire! _"Get DOWN!" He shouted and threw himself and the closest marine to the ground. Closing his eyes he waited for the end to come.

Light.

Light so bright it bleached the world around him. Blinding him. Blinding him through his visor. Through his closed eyelids.

Then the shock wave hit. It picked him up off the ground and threw him through the air like a child's toy. It bounced him off rocks and earth until it smashed him flat against an unyielding force. A single bright sharp flash of pain hit his mind before his armors auto-doc started pumping him full of pain killers and anti shock treatments. It did nothing for the earth shattering waves of sound that battered him like the drums of some ancient god of war. Sound so loud his mind couldn't process it and he blacked out.

But all things must eventually come to an end and soon enough the explosions did so. The sound eventually receding to a point his mind could handle.

Cracking open his eyes his mind tried desperately to make sense of its surroundings. On his cracked visor information started to scroll. Words and numbers that would moments ago have instantly told him all he needed to know about his squad became riddles that taunted him with knowledge he couldn't process. Every time he tried to isolate one patch of information from another it slid away before he could grasp it. His ears rang as his hearing painfully returned.

With a herculean effort he finally managed to get his eyes to focus past his visor. At first all he could see was dust. But then it parted and light once more filled his vision. Beyond it fire licked hungrily at the sky. Trying harder he managed to make some sense of it. A shape, a concept floated to the top of his mind. Shield.

It was a shield made of light.

Focusing on it seemed to clear his mind a bit. And with that clarity pain came flooding back into his consciousness. Amazingly it helped his mind recover even further. Tracking his head from left to right he spotted the still shapes of his squad and the quarian marines lying around him. Amazingly from each still form life signs life signs were coming in from each still form. A few of them were right on the ragged edge of life but.

They were all alive.

And that was when a foot descended from the sky and landed next to him.

_Boom,_ it sent a tremor through the ground. It was attached to an armored form that loomed just out of sight. It stayed there for a moment and then pushed on through the smoke and dust. In a slightly bemused state he noticed that small rocks and pebbles were rising into the air around the leg. He only caught the most fleeting of glimpses of its shape before it was out of sight. But a few things stood out in his mind.

One. It was huge and man shaped

Two. Atop massive shoulders huge pillars reached up into the sky.

Three. It was warm. Like the sun given flesh.

and one last thing.

Wings.

It had wings.

And then the darkness he had been holding back swarmed up to the front of his mind and he knew no more.

oOo

"Dr Akagi." EDI's mellow voice was admonishing. "Please refrain from smoking in the sick bay."

Ritsuko hit the mute switch on the intercom casually as she looked over the charts she held negligently in the other. She wandered down the long aisle of the Normandy's med bay checking each still form as she walked by. At the far end of the bay a tall figure sat between two of the beds.

"Garrus what are you doing out of bed?" She asked exasperatedly.

"Sitting." Garrus replied a twisted smile stretching across his scaled face.

"Funny Garrus. Your still badly injured. So Bed. Now."

"Doctor. Two of my best friends are lying right here." He indicated Shepard and Tali lying on either side of him. "When you rescued me on Omega you and Shepard were there for me when I awoke. Can I do any less?" He shifted his broken arm unconsciously.

"All Right Garrus." She reached over and gently examined the various bandages on his face arms and body. "Ensign Ibuki!" She called out startling the brown haired girl that was busy typing into a terminal at the far end of the Med bay.

"Yes!" The brown eyed girl squeaked out as she rushed over to the doctor. Ensign Ibuki had been dragooned into helping her with the influx of patients they had picked up. Slender with her brown hair cut short she looked years younger than her actual age. It still amused Dr. Akagi that someone like the gentle girl had joined the notoriously violent Cerberus Organization.

"Ibuki change Garrus's bandages and do a check on the integrity of the Quarian Isolation Chambers. I'm going to check on our other patient." She turned and began making her way towards the exit barely aware of the shrill Yes ma'am that followed her out.

"Doctor." Garrus steady voice cut across the room stopping her in her tracks. "Be very careful around that boy."

"What are you talking about Garrus?" She asked curiously.

"Did you see the images from the battlefield?" He asked seriously his eyes locked onto hers.

"Yes. I'll admit they were fairly disturbing. But for you and Shepard isn't that just a slow Tuesday?" Ritsuko asked with an impish grin.

"No doctor. I'll admit me and Shepard tend to go... a bit over board at times. But what happened on that planet wasn't just violence Doctor." His quiet emotionless tone sent a small shiver down her spine.

"It was savagery Ritsuko."

oOo

"Very interesting. Very interesting. Interesting indeed. Mass effect weaponry? No older? More advanced. Perhaps. Molecular armor, yes yes. Self repairing capabilities? Yes initial estimates seem to concur." Mordin muttered to himself as he examined the scans of the artifact machine.

"Doctor what do you make of this liquid." Gendo asked as he slid a microscope over to Mordin's side. He had changed into one of Mordin's spare coats and was now helping the rather eccentric doctor examine the data they had collected.

"Lets see. Ah yes. It looks organic but the composition is synthetic, crystalic. It seems to be composed of multi-cellular structures suspended in a liquid matrix. Hmm." The two professors continued their conversation speaking back and forth too quickly for most people to understand.

The door to the lab hissed open revealing the white clad form of Dr. Akagi. "Ah Doctors Ikari. I came to check on Shinji." She crossed the room only pausing to lay a comforting hand on Yui's shoulder. She stopped at the medical sarcophagus set in the corner of the lab. Inside floated the still form of a young man. A breathing mask pumped oxygen into his lungs. Red streaks flowed freely from his fingertips staining the blue amniotic liquid purple in streaks. All but one of his fingernails had been torn away. Presumably from trying to escape the artifact machine.

"Doctor how is he?" Yui asked her voice heavy with emotion.

"Give me a moment Mrs. Ikari." She and Mordin compared notes for nearly a half hour, chatting quietly. It was with a serious face that Ritsuko finally turned to speak with Yui.

"His physical injuries are minor. It is his internal condition that has me worried." Ritsuko settled into her 'professional' tone of voice.

"What do you mean?"

"His immersion in the interior of the artifact machine has effectively destroyed his immune system."

"Explain Doctor." Gendo looked up for the first time since Ritsuko had entered the room.

"Mordin do you want to explain." Ritsuko motioned to the Salarian.

"Yes. The Liquid Crystal lifeforms have created a brand new organ inside of the boy."

"Shinji." Yui interjected.

"Yes Shinji." Mordin continued with barely a pause. "This new organ is connected directly to his heart and spine. In itself it seems to do nothing except create more of the LCL's and provide some kind of link to the artifact machine. Shinji is transmitting passively on certain subspace frequencies."

Gendo stared impassively at Mordin, Yui on the other hand was much less composed but kept her silence.

Ritsuko picked up where Mordin left off. "The problem with the LCL's is that they defend themselves when Shinji's white blood cells try to expel them. Because of their saturation in his blood and muscle tissue they are destroying his white blood cells faster than Shinji can produce them." A shrill beeping interrupted her.

"Oh no." Inside the Sarcophagi Shinji had begun to thrash. A stream of bubbles suddenly erupted from his mask and the muscles in his neck were corded with strain. When Yui put her hand on the glass it vibrated from within. "He's screaming." She shouted at the room in general. Above his breathing mask his eyes were wide and unseeing.

"Doctor what's happening." Yui asked frantically.

"He's waking up. I think." Fingers flying over the keyboard Ritsuko monitored Shinji's wildly fluctuating vitals. "Were getting some kind of interference."

"Interesting. Sub space signals between Shinji and the artifact Machine are increasing exponentially. Analyzing Impossible. Data flow speed and transfer too fast to track. Multi-Tiered data in load and ex load. Similar to fleets data sharing system. Smaller more compact." Mordin commented from his station. "Hmm Data transfer speed is increasing."

oOo

Water he was in water. The thought sent shockwaves of panic resonating throughout his body. _NO NO not again. Let me out! Let ME OUT! _Blue light filled his vision, dimly through the liquid he could spot shapes moving in the distance.

He hammered his fists into the walls surrounding him, screaming as he did so. _NO NO NO NO._ The claustrophobic confines sent dark whispers slithering into his mind. Memories from long ago tried to push their way into the forefront of his mind.

_No not again._ His vision was starting to double, warp, split, between two sets of images. One moment he was walking along a dark tunnel the next he was drowning in blue liquid. He couldn't process it.

_Why? _The images began to flicker back and forth faster and faster until he could no longer distinguish one from the other. In a final flash of color and light his sight cleared.

He was walking out of the hangar. On Haestrom?

Yes. He knew. Beyond a shadow of a doubt. There was no uncertainty in his mind. It was a strange sensation.

_Mind Impulse Link... sync ratio climbing... 10%_

_Anti-Gravity propulsion system... Power feed initiated..._

Pushing past doubt he continued to make his way out of the hangar doors, his feet sending tremors through the ground. Wait the dimensions were wrong? No they weren't. He was.

His thoughts were abruptly sidelined as he took a final step into the mid-morning light of Haestrom's surface.

_Mind Impulse Link... sync ratio climbing... 20%_

_First stage mental partition lowering_

Enemy. The words was sharp and jagged in his mind. He examined his enemy quickly.

2 Assault units. Undamaged. Charging Main Batteries. Classification Angel. Threat level... High. Initiating Countermeasures.

8 heavy support. 3 destroyed. 2 minor damage. 3 Undamaged. Classification Praetorian. Threat level... Low. Arming Secondary weapons.

32. Infantry. 7 Destroyed. 13 minor damage. 12 undamaged. Classification Drone. Threat level... None. Anti personnel weaponry set to automatic.

_Mind Impulse Link... sync ratio climbing... 28%_

_Second stage mental partition lowering_

A slow heat began to burn inside of him. Anger. Rage. An emotion that was only partly from him. A scrap of chatter diverted him.

He glanced down.

Tali. Kal. He counted them in the space of an instant. 11 effective's counting her friend Shepard and Co.

_Mind Impulse Link... sync ratio climbing... 36% _

_Secondary nerve connections active..._

He raised his shield at the same moment the Assault Units fired, his face twisted into a grimace by the emotions that were pounding through his mind.

The glowing shield he raised in front of his friends held firm in the face of the assault. Somehow he knew that some of the energy was being transferred to him. As the barrage intensified stray bolts of energy shot past him into and around the hangar entrance throwing up huge clouds of dust.

And then it was over. The streaking bolts of energy no longer hammered against his defenses.

_Enemy weapons recharging..._

_Weapons online..._

_Anti-Gravity propulsion online..._

_Mind Impulse Link... sync ratio climbing... 41%_

_Minimum Synch ratio threshold reached..._

_Final partition lowered..._

and the yammering that had been tickling the back of his mind erupted forth into the forefront of his mind in a rush of emotion and need.

oOo

"Assuming Direct Control" One of the collector's drones spat out as it was abruptly taken over. "All forces attack." He chittered to the horde as he led the way forward. "Recover the-"

A bolt of plasma shot out from the cloud of dust surrounding the underground hangar and cut him off. Literally, as his torso hit the ground sans legs. The beam continued tracking the assembled drones and praetorian's turning many to ash and disabling more.

And then like a wraith shrouded in smoke and dust IT erupted out of the dust and plowed towards them, held aloft by glowing wings. Before the light faded from his eyes the general choked out one last word his voice distorted by anger and fear. "Evangelion."

oOo

Unit one crashed into the center of the shattered Collector formation its armored feet smashing several drones into paste. Its wings flickered once and disappeared. Reaching out with its hands it lurched to its feet and grabbed the arm of the nearest Angel Class enemy and yanked it down savagely, breaking the limb and impaling the Angel on its horn. Its other arm flickered forward and buried itself to the elbow in its chest shattering the orb set there in a shower of sparks.

The Angel threw back its head and screeched soundlessly. Organic looking ooze fountain-ed out of its wounds and splashed onto gleaming purple armor. Sawing its head back and forth Unit One drove its horn down and out tearing it loose with a crunch as it tore through the angels armor.

Tossing the dead angel to one side Unit One casually picked up a squirming praetorian and crushed it in one armored hand. Tossing the shattered shell aside Unit One turned its baleful gaze towards the remaining Angel. It's eyes glowing with a soft white light as it stared.

White eyes stared back into glowing blue eyes as the two titans squared off. Growling gutturally Unit One charged forward armored feet tearing divots out of the rocky earth.

The angel crossed its arms in front of its chest causing the shields that rippled across its body to flare up into a glowing blue energy shield that Unit One smashed into and rebounded off of in a shower of sparks.

Rolling once Unit One levered up itself onto one knee and glared at the angel. Getting up it charged once more, fists smashing ineffectively into the energy shield. Sidestepping quickly Unit One tried to get around the shield but the angel kept the shield interposed between itself and its enemy.

Growling Unit One took a step back and tilted its head quizzically as it examined the shield. Eyes narrowing its growling took on a new pitch as smoke began to wisp gently around its armored fingers.

Slowly at first then faster and faster the alien ichor on Unit One's hands began to steam, it's hands beginning to glow with internal energy. Purple armor turned to red then white as energy began to crackle around armored fingers, the heat warping the air as the light intensified.

Slowly it approached the shield once more glowing hands held out stretched as it rammed the shield once more. This time its energy sheathed fingers gouged into the energy shield instead of bouncing off. Armored shoulders shaking and seeming to bulge Unit One began to slowly exert pressure. Bolts of energy arced out in every direction as the shield began to change color and distort. Bit by bit a tear began to form in its iridescent surface.

With a final massive effort Unit One pulled its arms apart shattering the shield explosively. The shock wave incinerating everything within a large radius, the dancing crackling touched the remaining Collector drones and Praetorian's only for the barest of seconds before they were simply ash and charred shells.

With a guttural howl of victory Unit One's hands lashed out. The fingers of its right hand were held in a V as it punched its burning hand through the eye sockets of the Angel's skull mask. Burning its way through with ease until it exploded out the back with a crack in a spray of burning fluid and armor, before pulling back and digging its fingers in. It's left hand came up and dug into the angels shoulder its hand burning through the armor and synthetic muscle until it hit the internal skeletal structure and stopped.

Twisting its arms Unit one tore the arm off at the joint spraying alien gore and bits of burning metal into the air. Roaring in savage joy it shook the now limp body off its right hand sending the now diminished but still massive Angel crashing to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Straddling the prone angel Unit One's hands began to tear into the angel. Metallic cracks and snaps were heard as armor was twisted torn and ripped out. Smoke began to rise into the sky as organic matter began to burn. Great sheets of metal and gobs of gray flesh continued to fly in the to the sky as Unit One continued its savage work.

After what seemed like an eternity Unit One finally began to slow before finally slumping to a stop above the now unidentifiable mass of twisted and burning Angel. Finally motionless after the carnage that it had wrought.

oOo

"And there!" Ritsuko exclaimed with a flourish. She had finally managed to get a sedative to take effect finally ending the nerve wracking stand off in the lab. And now Shinji had finally been stabilized. He slumped forward in his tank his breathing finally steadying after beating both erratically and frantically for several long minutes. "Looks like his brainwaves finally steadied as well." She sighed in relief. "He'll be Okay Dr. Ikari." She turned to address Gendo and Yui but found only Shinji's mother staring back at her. She blinked a few times in surprise.

"My husband said he couldn't watch anymore and left." Yui explained answering her unspoken question. "Thank you doctor" Her voice brimming with gratitude and relief.

Ritsuko nodded back in silent acknowledgment.

oOo

Elsewhere on the Normandy Gendo Ikari walked purposefully and surely towards the communications room. Stepping into the HyperCom chamber he spoke quietly. "Computer Acknowledge and execute. Code Cerberus Alpha Sigma 23U8GM34DD, Connect to User 1-A."

"Acknowledged." EDI's voice switched over to a genderless and robotic tone. "Sealing room. Link established."

The Hyper-Com's interactive holographic interface came to life. The Illusive man looked up from his desk and acknowledged Gendo with a curt nod. "What did you find?"

"It is as we hoped." Gendo replied with the barest of hint of a smile. He went on to briefly summarize the events on Haestrom and the data they had acquired.

"And your son?" The Illusive Man asked curiously.

"Irrelevant, if he can not be controlled he can be replaced." Gendo replied callously adjusting his orange glasses with one hand.

In front of him the Illusive man stood up and examined the star that was projected behind his seat. His posture betrayed nothing except perhaps anticipation and barely suppressed delight.

"This is it my old friend. A new Genesis for Man-Kind has begun."

oOo

AN: Thanks to my Beta's Whitedragon17 and Psudocode Samurai who as always provide me with unparalleled help and support. Both are amazing authors and I highly recommend All of their fics. And thanks to all my reviewers.

AAN: If you think I made a mistake or have a suggestion or an idea, Please PM me or leave it in a review.


	3. Author's Note

Author's Note.

'On wings of light' will be on hiatus for an indefinite amount of time due to a lack of inspiration on my part.

In addition it will also be up for adoption. If you want to adopt this story send me a PM. I will be glad to help in any way I can should someone decide to adopt this fic.

For those of you who enjoyed this story thank you for reading.

And if you did not, my thanks for reading anyways.


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